portrait of a crisis. tokyo electric power company releases additional video that shows the confusion at the heart of a nuclear disaster. welcome to nhk world "newsline." the operator of the fukushima daiichi power plant has released more video of employees in the heat of the nuclear crisis. tokyo electric power company posted footage online of the teleconferences in the days

after the accident last year. the pictures highlight the uncertainty caused by company executives and government officials. tepco released six hours of video. it was recorded over five days starting march 11th. the footage shows people at the plant on offsite center at the firm's head office in tokyo and other branch offices. one section shows the plant chief was unable to communicate with government officials. >> another part shows the confusion over how to open the valve and lower the pressure inside a reactor.

>> tepco officials say they plan to release more video recorded in the month after the accident. japan's industry minister says the government will not allow a power company to start building a nuclear plant in western japan. the decision comes three weeks after the government allowed work to resume on two plants already under construction. yukio edano referred to plans by chugoku electric power company to build a facility in yam ga chi prefecture. he said the government's new policy rules out the construction of nuclear plants government leaders adopted the policy last month. they said they would try to end the reliance on nuclear power by the 2030s. all reactors went offline one by one after the accident in fukushima. two at the ohi plant in western japan are running again. edano said other reactors could be restarted if the regulator confirms they're safe. officials at japan's nuclear regulation authority have participated in their first

emergency drill. they launched the agency three weeks ago. the drill simulated a power blackout at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in roc in north eastern japan. a south japan sports plane flew a commissioner and members to the staff of the site. they used the plant's emergency response center to communicate by video link with the agency's headquarters in tokyo. they rehearsed measures to evacuate the village and ensure the safety of its residents. turkish commanders are mobilizing armored vehicles along the border with syria. they have been increasing their security since an attack on a border down. the turkish government action follows a second straight of artillery strikes by its military. those forces were retaliating for a syrian mortar attack on on the town of akcakale. the border attacks killed five civilians including a woman and her three children.

prime minister recep tayyip erdogan says turkey would never want to start a war, but he said nobody should test turkey's determination to protect their borders. the united nations security has expressed concern about the situation along the border. it issued a statement denouncing the mortar attack. >> the members of the security council condemn in the strongest terms the shelling by the syrian armed forces. >> the statement says the shelling highlighted the impact the syrian crisis is having on regional peace and security and called on turkey to exercise restraint to prevent the crisis from escalating. the third and final day of the asean maritime forum has taken place in the philippine capital manila on friday. japan, china, and the united states joined the forum for the first time. japan used its first occasion at the table to stress its position that territorial disputes should be settled peacefully. japan didn't mention any country

by name, but it comments were apparently aimed at china. >> these efforts must be made through peaceful talks, which should deny any idea justifying might is right. it is indispensable for anybody concern to resolve disputes over territories in a peaceful manner based on international law. >> the two nations are involved in a deepening confrontation over the senkaku islands. china and some asean countries also have competing claims to areas in the south china sea. participants at the meeting say china's delegate insisted that it wants to resolve the territorial issues peacefully. he said china places high importance on discussions with asean countries. china seems to be trying to avoid adding to concern about its behavior among its neighbors. the u.s. military is strengthening its presence in the asia pacific region. it has announced that it's going to deploy two carrier strike

groups to western pacific. this comes as the chinese navy increases its advance into the east china sea, the south china sea, and the pacific ocean. so what's behind the u.s. decision? we'll have analysis by our military affairs expert. but before that, let's look at the current situation in the region. the strike groups will include two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. the "u.s. washington" is near yoke sucha and the "uss john c. stennis" is on the west coast. they have the aegis air defense system. the u.s. fleet says the two strike groups will provide a combat-ready force to protect and defend the collective maritime interests of the united states and its allies in the asia pacific region. the u.s. also plans to deploy new f-35 stealth fighter jets in the region. the f-35 is now in its final stage of development. it has an advanced network

system to connect the aircraft with ground-based radar and aegis vessels which can provide integrated information to the pilots. earlier i spoke to nhk world's senior commentator hisashi sua. so, hisashi, is it unusual to have two aircraft carriers in this region at the same time? >> no, it's not that unusual. u.s. navy policy says there should be a presence of twoiers in the region. but this is not always the case because of demands elsewhere, so "uss george washington" has its home base in japan. the "uss john c. stennis" is based on the u.s. west coast but is on its way to the persian gulf to join the fleet. it arrived in the western pacific in mid-september. >> so is there anything unusual about what's happening right now? >> yes. the fact that the u.s. navy made the announcement in the first place.

usually, it doesn't announce details about ships' movements except for port visits. this could possibly be due to the dispute surrounding the senkaku islands. the show of force could be for the -- for both china and japan. the implicit message could be for china to refrain from taking any provocative action and to give japan a sense of security. it remains unclear how long the "uss john stennis" will stay in the region before heading to the middle east. >> we talk about the ships now. is the u.s. plan to prioritize the f-35 fighter jet deployment in the asia pacific region linked to the senkaku dispute? >> no. there is no direct link. but i think there may be a bigger picture. on thursday evening, seven chinese naval ships passed through international waters between okinawa's main island and mio coe island before

entering the pacific ocean. china is stepping up its military buildup and increasing its maritime clout to counter the chinese moves. the u.s. forces are moving to implement a strategy of focusing the deployment in the asian pacific region. the f-35 deployment is designed to strengthen the u.s. forces capability. the plan was announced even though it isn't known when and where the f-35s will be deployed. again, the aim is to send a clear message to both japan and china. the u.s. wants -- the u.s. wants to deepen its alliance with japan, whose air self-defense force will be getting the same type of material. >> nhk world senior commentator

hisashi tsuya. as the presidential campaign heats up in the united states, employment figures are showing improvements in september. the news could provide a boost to the campaign of president barack obama. u.s. department of labor officials say the u.s. jobless rate dropped to 7.8% in september. the figure is the lowest since january 2009. employers added 114,000 nonfarm jobs in september, matching the expectations of analysts. the nonfarm sector is considered particularly sensitive to economic trends. 44,000 jobs were added in the health care sector. manufacturing employment edged down, shedding 16,000 jobs. policymakers at japan's central bank unanimously decided to maintain current monetary policy. this comes after the rare

attendance by the economic and fiscal policy minister. seiji maehara has been advocating aggressive monetary easing to get the economy out of deflation. after the two-day meeting through friday, the policymakers shared the view that personal spending remains steady as the jobs situation is improving. but they agree that output and exports by manufacturers, one of the main drivers of the japanese economy, are relatively weak due to a slowdown in the chinese and other economies. they also concur that companies are cautious about the business outlook. the policymakers implemented additional monetary measures in september. they included expanding to about $1 trillion the funds available to buy government bonds and other assets. they unanimously agreed to keep the monetary measures unchanged to wait and see their effects. maehara was the first cabinet minister in nine years to attend the boj policy meeting. >> translator: i have a sense of

crisis about the continued strong yen and japan's inability to get out of deflation. i wanted to convey my view to the bank of japan by attending the meeting. >> he said the bank of japan's independence mt be respected. maehara also said that he will continue to anticipate the central bank's actions for aggressive monetary easing to achieve the targeted rise in consumer price levels. boj governor masaaki shirtakowa was asked by a reporter if he felt pressure from the government when maehara attended the meeting. he refrained from answering the question directly, but he said he believed it's important to have a cabinet minister seriously listen to discussions on monetary policy. he added the bank will keep in close contact with the government to try to pull the country ow of deflation. a possible end to western sanctions is in sight, but foreign companies are already setting up shop in myanmar.

they include firms from china, south korea, western nations and japan. a trade show for made in japan products is currently under way inni in yangong. the organizer expects 50,000 people to attend over four days. flat-panel televisions and digital cameras are among the most popular items. >> translator: i love japanese products for their high performance. our car and air conditioners are also japanese made. >> many consumer miss-in myanmar see japanese products as sophisticated and well made. companies at the show hope their positive brand image will lead to rising sales in this exciting market known as southeast asia's last frontier. here are the latest market figures.

scientists from japan have made a breakthrough in reproductive technology. they use multipurpose stem cells to generate female reproductive cells. then they produce mice. they hope what they learned might someday lead to the treatment of infertility. rnlers at kyoto university took the cells of female mice to produce ips cells. they apply a protein to them to

develop what are called germ cells. the researchers transplanted the germ cells into ovaries. they succeeded in generating reproductive cells, or to va. they fertilize the ova with normal sperm. they placed them in mice, waited, then the mice did what the team hoped for -- they gave birth to normal offspring. >> translator: we are reproducing the mechanisms of sperm and ova in test tubes. research on chromosomes has helped identify cause of infertilit infertility. this achievement will improve our chances of finding a cure. >> the group succeeded last year in generating mouse sperm from ips cells. saito says researchers need to be careful about what they do next. earlier, we spoke to the reporter who covers this story. >> so the research is expected

to help identify the cause of infertility, but at the same time, it could lead to artificial creation of life as well. >> that's right. the kyoto university group also succeeded in generating sperm from mice last year. so if the research progress is without a hitch, it will become possible to create sperm and ova from a single individual using ips cells. if the eggs were to be fertilized by the sperm, in theory, it could be possible to artificially create a human being. the japanese education ministry allows researchers to create ova and sperm using ips cells, but it bans fertilization of these cells. >> the research poses serious ethical questions, as well. >> yes. let's listen to how bioethics experts view this issue. >> translator: researchers have so far refrained from fertilizing ips-derived germ

cells as they know such an act could be ethically problematic. but an increasing number of obstetricians treating infertile couples are raising questions about the current ban. they're demanding that the latest technology be made available to treat their patients. lines should be drawn to clarify to what extent the latest technology can be used to treat infertility. >> i think debate should start as soon as possible in-in view of the rapid progress into being made into ips cell research. the issue does not only concern scientists. i think everyone in japan must be involved in efforts to find the right direction by carefully weighing the merits and demerits. some boys and girls wake up and cringe at the thought of

heading into the schoolyard. they know that bullies are waiting for them. we have two reports on how schools in two country, australia and the u.s., are tackling the problem. first nhk world's hiromi kurosak reports. >> reporter: this is has set up a program to get students to confront the issue of bullying and look at the way to tackle it. >> what kind of characteristics might the person have that leads them to get bullied a little bit? a reason? sorry? [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: professor ken rigby is one of australia's leading authorities on bullies. on this day, he's been invited to lead a class addressing the issue. he gets the students to give their opinions on why bullying happens and how they can stop it. >> what might he do? what might he say?

>> stop? >> stop. yes. what else? >> go and look for someone? >> go and look for? >> a teacher. >> a teacher. yeah. you're bringing the staff in. >> reporter: professor rigby says that standards play a key role in stopping bullies. >> the research does show that 50% of the time the bullying stops. but when they do say something, then the bullying is likely to stop. >> you can prevent that by staking out someone or notify someone else about it. so it's an easy way to get rid of it and prevent it in the future. >> i think that they took the matter very seriously, came up with sensible suggestions. if they are keen on trying to do something about bullying, that can make a massive difference. >> most u.s. states have enacted

laws against bullying so educators there are taking a different approach. nhk world's kazuo sasa has the view from new jersey. >> in new jersey, a new anti-bullying law took effect from september 2011. under the state law, once bullying is observed, schools are required to look into it immediately, notify the parents, and take steps to tackle it. this hanover middle school has set up measures based on the new anti-bullying bill of rights. the school counselor was appointed last year at the school's anti-bullying specialist. >> so this is like my anti-bullying bible.

where i have all my information. >> reporter: the law requires each school district to create its own anti-bullying program. the program sets out detailed procedures to follow when bullies occurs and steps for dealing with the bully. when bullying is reported, they begin an investigation and contact the offender. they also contact after-school counseling. the law even stipulates that the student can be suspended or expelled and the case reported to the police if it's serious. >> the benefit about this law is that it's a must. so every school district has to handle a report in the same way. so there is no gray area and it's not something that is really subjective. >> japan has no laws dealing

with school bullying, but local governments have started passing regulations to address the issue. they're informing educators, parents, and others in the community that they have a responsibility to protect children. an 11-year-old boy has discovered the remains of an exceptionally well-preserved mammoth in siberia. experts say this kind of discovery is a once in a century event. the male mammoth was found on the taymyr peninsula in siberia. his remains date back to 30,000 years ago. the animal is believed to have died at the age of 15 or 16. experts say the permafrost left the organs, bones, and flesh in an exceptional state of preservation. the find indicates that mammoths were able to survive harsh winter conditions by storing a massive amount of fat in their humps. a storm is hovering over the

south china sea. for more on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. mai? yes, gene, absolutely right. you have -- we have a storm over the south china sea which looks like it's going to be intensifying into a severe tropical storm in the next 24/48 before it makes landfall over southern vietnam. this system has the potential of -- capacity of bringing about 5 to 6 meters of very high waves. that will be moving in a westerly path in the later of this week, weekend, and into cambodia and thailand. now, this rainfall accumulation could be some staggering amounts. it could be about 300 milliliters or even more, so coastal flooding, especially in the rural areas, including da nang. and the line is focused on cambodia and the thailand region due to the monsoonal flow being very active this year. so we really don't want anymore rain, so be aware of land slides and mud slides that this storm

could create. another storm to look out for over the marianas. this is likely to be organized in the next 24 hours, so this is another storm to watch out for and keep a very close eye on. but across much of japan, early this morning things were really unstable. let me show you some footage coming out from niigata prefecture. this is near the niigata airport. we can see three waterspouts over the water. apparently moved about 20 minutes. this is a separate event, possibly a tornado hitting akita prefecture early this morning around 10:00 a.m., damaging houses here. now, if we pull back, we can show you that this could actually happen again tomorrow in the next 24 hours due to upper disturbance. this is another separate event, but this front will be moving in towards the north and creating some isolated thunderstorms across the region in the afternoon, evening hours. so northern japan, central japan, people in these vicinities should be carrying

umbrellas. do watch out for the sudden weather changes across the region. 26 in teak owe, but daytime will be some sunny events so, do enjoy that weather. seoul at 24, and beijing on your holiday, 24 degrees. and i know some of you are wondering what the outlook is going to be like for the formula one japanese grand prix in suzuka in the tokai region. well, saturday looks like a perfect day only after the qualifications on this day, a few showers will be seen. and sunday yet again 3 to 4 degrees above-average temperatures. here, not so perfect, but it was a perfect day across much of the canadian prairies and the rockies. show you some pictures. children were actually having fun to create some snowmen. actually 20 to 30 semeet sen meters of snow fell here if you are going to be driving across these regions. this is the hard freeze caused by the arctic blast coming from

the north. that will be descending toward the texas region even on your saturday. that was your friday outlook, but northern rockies and across much of these regions you may see additional 10 centimeters on top of what we just showed you. and then the this cold front will be passing through these regions and sagging down towards the gulf states, and this is where some thunderstorm events could happen across your region on your saturday. things are going to be really dropping in temperatures. in dallas, you're looking at 29 for your friday. but on your saturday, that's going to be about midteens. same story will go here in the eastern coast, new york and washington, d.c. they'll be dropping in the midteens as well. here's your extended forecast. ♪

some 80,000 fans of a world-famous south korean rapper danced late into the night at a free concert in seoul. >> "gangnam style"! >> the singer psy played his hit song "gangnam style." he performs a kind of horse riding dance during the number. he's become a worldwide phenomenon and gone viral on the internet. the song is number two on the u.s. billboard chart. if it reaches the top, it will be the first number-one song by an asian artist in about half a century. japan's kyu sakamoto hit number one in 1936 with his song known as "sukiyaki" in english. we'll be back with more

updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.